140 gr Bullets for .357

[Sunkist]

I got started reloading with Hornady #4 back in 1991. It steered me to the 140gr. bullet and Blue Dot and The Sierra book from those days listed 12.4 Blue Dot as the accuracy load. The 140 is a great compromise between speed and accuracy and though hot it shot some of the tightest groups I ever managed to shoot. Over the years that load gave me some normal primers and easy extraction and some flattened primers and bang on the bench stuck cases.

I backed off to 12gr then settled on 11.7gr (the current max in the manuals is 11.5gr Blue Dot) Back in the day the max for Blue Dot topped out at 14.5 gr. and that was in Speer, believe it or not. A few years ago I chronographed 1518 fps out of a 6" 686 and 1536 fps out of a 2.5" 686 w/ 12.4gr. Blue Dot, WSP primers and Win cases.

I hadn't been able to match the accuracy of those Blue Dot loads until I ran 18.7gr of H110, CCI550 and Win cases last weekend. It's another hot one but I didn't have the extraction problems. Although, I did get primer flow on two rounds out of my no-dash 686 8 3/8". That was a first, I'll have to send it in for the modification some day.

I'd like to hear from anyone who has a favorite load for the 140gr JHP. Should I settle on H110 or should I look around some more? This is the bullet I'll probably use on Minnesota Whitetail this fall.

 

[Sunkist]

I got started reloading with Hornady #4 back in 1991. It steered me to the 140gr. bullet and Blue Dot and The Sierra book from those days listed 12.4 Blue Dot as the accuracy load. The 140 is a great compromise between speed and accuracy and though hot it shot some of the tightest groups I ever managed to shoot. Over the years that load gave me some normal primers and easy extraction and some flattened primers and bang on the bench stuck cases.

I backed off to 12gr then settled on 11.7gr (the current max in the manuals is 11.5gr Blue Dot) Back in the day the max for Blue Dot topped out at 14.5 gr. and that was in Speer, believe it or not. A few years ago I chronographed 1518 fps out of a 6" 686 and 1536 fps out of a 2.5" 686 w/ 12.4gr. Blue Dot, WSP primers and Win cases.

I hadn't been able to match the accuracy of those Blue Dot loads until I ran 18.7gr of H110, CCI550 and Win cases last weekend. It's another hot one but I didn't have the extraction problems. Although, I did get primer flow on two rounds out of my no-dash 686 8 3/8". That was a first, I'll have to send it in for the modification some day.

I'd like to hear from anyone who has a favorite load for the 140gr JHP. Should I settle on H110 or should I look around some more? This is the bullet I'll probably use on Minnesota Whitetail this fall.

 

[VAdoublegunner]

I like a load similar to yours. Just shot some today in fact. I use 12.0-12.1gr Blue Dot, WSPM, and a Rem 140JHP. It is still my all time favorite load for the 140 gr bullet and, I concur, one of the more accurate. Why switch from Blue Dot if it works?

 

[mnhntr]

hey fellow Minnesotan, I have been only reloading for a short time. I bought a bunch of 140gr Sierra JHC and tried two powders. Accurate No5 10.6gr and Hodgdon tightgroup 6.6gr. I will have to let you know in a few days how they chrono due to having to borrow one. But both shot well. I am willing to share some range time with them if you are in the Staples area. I am shooting them out of a no dash 686 4in.

 

[Sunkist]

Originally posted by VAdoublegunner:
I like a load similar to yours. Just shot some today in fact. I use 12.0-12.1gr Blue Dot, WSPM, and a Rem 140JHP. It is still my all time favorite load for the 140 gr bullet and, I concur, one of the more accurate. Why switch from Blue Dot if it works?

I hear you about the 12gr Blue Dot. If it ain't broke, why fix it? It's those flattened primers that worried me. Win. WSP are the worst. What primer are you using?

 

[Sunkist]

Originally posted by mnhntr:
hey fellow Minnesotan, I have been only reloading for a short time. I bought a bunch of 140gr Sierra JHC and tried two powders. Accurate No5 10.6gr and Hodgdon tightgroup 6.6gr. I will have to let you know in a few days how they chrono due to having to borrow one. But both shot well. I am willing to share some range time with them if you are in the Staples area. I am shooting them out of a no dash 686 4in.

I think we met one day at the Staples Range. You had a neat 686 2.5" w/ night sights? I'd enjoy getting together to try different loads. I'll send an email.

I've never used either one of those powders. Another one I've tried is H4227. It's a pleasent load to shoot and accurate but I'm not sure it has the punch I'd want for hunting.

 

[pownal55]

speer 140gr jhp and 146gr jswc bullets were always my favorite in the 357 magnum. i think 18grs of w296 was max for the 140 and 17grs for the 146. both were accurate, but the 146 produced the best groups.

 

[VAdoublegunner]

Sunkist,
I use WSPM or sometimes the Rem 5 1/2. Both flatten slightly, but no more than factory loaded .357 Mag ammo. You'll notice that you also get pretty good flattening in factory 357 ammo, even mild loads like Silver Tips. At the 12.0/.1gr levels I've never observed any high pressure indicators other than normal and expected primer deformation. I've shot a bunch of them as my practice load in an SP101 over many, many years. A tough little gun the SP101 is, but it is tight as ever and somewhat less able to sustain a hot load than a 686 I would think. My 4" 681 *really* likes that load. They will always deliver about 2-2.5" at 50 yards in my 8 3/8" 27-2!

 

[Sunkist]

Here's a pic of WSPM primers from a batch of 12.4 Blue Dot, 140 Rem. JHP. The three on the right flattened and the 2 on left came out normal. BD doesn't meter the best. Maybe that's the reason for different pressure levels. Are the three on the right are in acceptable range of deformation?

 

[pownal55]

the one furthest to the right doesn't look too bad but the rest are badly flattened. i would get away from those loads and try something else. you will end up with loose primer pockets, at the very least.

 

[flop-shank]

I've heard enough bad stuff about Blue Dot that I'll never use it. Why? It's not the only powder out there and if I want a screeching hot load I'll use H-110. Am I missing something?

 

[H Richard]

I've been loading Win. 296, 18.5 Gr. behind the Sierra 140 and it chrono's 1390 fps out of my 686 no dash with a 6" barrel. It's my most accurate .357 load.

 

[canoe on the yukon]

Originally posted by flop-shank:
I've heard enough bad stuff about Blue Dot that I'll never use it. Why? It's not the only powder out there and if I want a screeching hot load I'll use H-110. Am I missing something?

Ditto and for whatever it's worth,Bluedot gives pressure spikes in cold temps (noticed you live in Minnesota)

 

[Sunkist]

I ran a comparison of two loads today. 11.6 Blue Dot w/ CCI SPM. And, 11.7 Blue Dot w/ WSP primers. The group with the magnum primers opened up to 3.5" at 25 yds. The standard primer load tightened up to 2" and less. The primers were all normal on both loads like the far right case above.

I'm not looking for max power loads anymore, my wrists can't take it, but I will push it for hunting loads. I'll stick with H110 for now.

I might give 296 a try. It sounds like they're two company's version of the same powder. Does 296 give any advantage over H110?

I'll only use the Blue Dot for intermediate loads with standard primers. It does a nice job with .40 S&W loads when I can't find Power Pistol, too.

Thanks to everyone for the feedback.

 

[mnhntr]

Yes, we did meet at Staples range. If you want to meet up and shoot some, I will email you my number.

 

[canoe on the yukon]

Sunkist,

H110 and W296 are the SAME powder.This is not a myth.A phone call to either Hodgdon or Winchester can easily verify it.

The slight differences you will note in load data between the two are the normal lot to lot variations.

When using H110/W296,use max or near max loads,good crimp and magnum primer.